Scorpia's Return
by The Needless Lobsters
Summary: It had been a while since Alex had heard from them. He was starting to get back to having a normal life, being able to do things like a regular teen - make friends, study, play sports... but he, of all people, knew that his good times would be short-lived. If only he hadn't dragged his friends into his world on his return... Post Scorpia Rising, sequel to 'Rider's Return'.
1. Prologue

**Right, guys, so here's the sequel I was talking about! This probably would have come later, but I needed to relax during my revision and started writing. So, here's the prologue, and I hope you like it!**

* * *

Darkness.

That was what filled that room. Darkness.

Well, not complete darkness. There were slivers of light finding their way through the cracks in the corners of the room, and the gaps in the boarded up windows, and even under the thick steel door that isolated the room from the rest of the world. The room was fairly large, and very empty, save for an old, slightly rusting, metal desk that had a matching metal chair. On the side of the room opposite the desk was the large steel door, at least ten centimetres thick, with no windows and only the slight gap underneath the door to allow it to open… when it was opened.

A man sat in the darkness. He didn't mind the darkness. It was who he was. He'd grown accustomed to it after almost a year of being forced to live in it. He had pale white skin, blotchy due to poor health, and dark, almost evil, eyes that were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, due to their sensitivity to bright light. To blend into the darkness, he wore a black suit with a dark shirt, which contrasted starkly to his stubby white fingers. He was slumped back a little in his metal swivel chair, his elbows resting on the arm rests and his fingers interlinked to support his chin.

The large steel door creaked as it was slowly pushed open, revealing a pair of men, silhouetted against the light coming into the room from behind them.

"Sir, you requested our presence?" one of them asked. He sounded gruff, maybe a male in his mid-to late thirties. He had a rather large and bulky body, built with muscle, and was slightly balding. His eyes were small, his lips thin, and his nose broad and fairly flat.

The man at the desk nodded in affirmation, beckoning the two into the room with a nod and a twitch of the finger.

The steel door slowly shut behind the two males as they walked into the room, locking with a clang.

There was a click, and a dim light flickered on, the bulb hanging by cables above their heads, casting a dull glow around the room.

The two men stood there patiently, waiting for their boss, the man sat at the desk, to speak. And when he did speak, it wasn't something that they had exactly been expecting.

"How are you both?" he asked quietly, looking between the two and squinting behind his lenses, his eyes still trying to adjust to the light. "Doing well? Getting wives, having families, yes?" His voice was croaky from lack of use, and was accented with Russian – well, probably not exactly Russian, but it was definitely Eastern European.

The males that stood gave each other nervous and confused looks. What were they supposed to answer? Was this some sort of trick question? What was going on here?

The boss stared at the two males for a moment longer, still expecting answers, before sighing at the silence. "I suppose I shall take that as a 'yes'," he muttered, before he sat up straighter at his desk. "I have a request for the two of you," he told them, leaning forward onto the cold metal desk in front of him. He leaned his elbows on the desk, interlocking beneath his chin again.

This was what the two males had been expecting, and they leaned forward slightly as they listened intently, waiting for their mission to be given.

"Why are we here?"

That brought both men's thoughts to a grinding halt again. _What_?

"_Quoi_?" the second of the men found himself asking, raising an eyebrow at the man at the desk. It was a dangerous move on his part, but he couldn't have cared less at that moment. This man was considerably smaller than the bulky guy, his body seemingly more built to suit a runner than a fighter. He had a large, sharp nose, fairly large eyes, and also had thin lips.

"I said, why are we here?" the boss repeated.

"Because this is our home," the bulky male answered, and the boss sighed, seemingly getting nowhere with these two idiots.

His forefingers went to his temples, rubbing circles into them slowly, and he took a deep breath before starting on the two again. "And why is this 'our home'…?" he asked, as if he was speaking to a pair of three year old children.

The two men hesitated for a moment, but then their eyes lit up as they realised what he was on about, and they both made a little "oooh…" sound.

"Because our work was destroyed," the slim male, clearly French due to his strong accent, answered firmly.

"And who by?" Now the boss-man was getting somewhere, and his lips curled up into a small, and barely noticeable, smile.

"Rider," the other answered automatically, as if everyone knew the answer to that question. His gruff voice had an accent that was more of an Eastern European accent – not quite Russian, but more from Poland or thereabouts.

What he had said was a common answer to that question. Anyone who had ever been a part of Scorpia whilst it had still been running knew of the blonde teen, employed by MI6, that had brought down the criminal agency.

The boss nodded. "But, of course. The one and only Alex Rider, son of John Rider, both spies for MI6 and infiltrators of Scorpia."

The two men were watching their boss patiently, waiting for what he had to say next. He hadn't asked a question, and so they did not really have any reason to speak.

"Now, of course, since he destroyed all that we worked for… well, we cannot let him go 'scot-free', can we?"

The men shook their heads, knowing that that was what their boss wanted to see. They didn't know for themselves whether they wanted to let him go 'scot-free', but they had to say yes. The answer wasn't debatable.

The boss smiled. "Good…" He leaned forward onto the desk in front of him. "Then I suggest you prepare yourselves, men." His eyes narrowed slightly. "We are going to pay our friend, Mr. Rider, a little visit…"


	2. Chapter 1

"_Come on Alex! Kick the ball!" Tom cried from his position in goal._

_The group of friends was at the park, out playing a small game of one on one on a sunny Saturday afternoon. They had previously gone out for lunch at McDonald's, their wrappers and boxes left on the grass as makeshift goal posts, and were now just kicking the ball around and having fun._

_It was nearly the end of the summer anyway, and soon they would be going back to school…_

"_Yeah! It's not like he's gonna save it anyway!" James added with a grin, knowing how terrible Tom was in goal._

"_Hey!" was Tom's indignant response, even though there was a huge grin on his face._

_Alex just stood laughing at the two boys for a moment before stepping back to take the shot. He stepped forward, bringing his foot forward to kick the ball…_

"_Alex_! Wake up!"

Alex groaned as rays of sunshine landed on his face. He pulled his duvet further over his head, blocking the light out.

The duvet was hastily pulled away.

"Come on Alex! You've got to wake up!" Sabina urged from her position at the foot of his bed with her arms folded.

He turned over and buried his face in his pillow. "What day is it?" Alex asked through the pillows, muffling his voice.

"It's Monday. You know – the first day back after that break we call 'the weekend'?"

"I hate Mondays," Alex stated before trying to fall back asleep.

Sabina glared at him and sighed before smiling evilly. "Dad!" she called out of the door. "Get the bucket ready!"

Alex jumped up, falling out of bed and landing on the floor with a crash. "Ow! I'm up! I'm up! Could you get softer carpets?"

Sabina laughed at him before turning serious. "Just hurry up and get ready, Alex. It's my turn to make breakfast today, so be prepared for slightly burnt toast." She walked towards the door.

"Slightly burnt, or totally burnt to a crisp?" Alex asked, a smirk on his face from remembering the last breakfast disaster they'd had. Sabina glared at him from her position at the door.

"Next time, you make the toast." And with that, she walked out of the room and downstairs.

Alex grinned before he got up, ruffling his hair as he did so.

It had been about four months since Alex had gone to live with the Pleasures in America, and since then he had grown and had managed to live a considerably normal life. He had made some new friends, although he still kept in contact with Tom and had managed to invite him over during the summer (after the whole incident at NCIS in D.C., of course), and had joined the soccer team – he _was_ in America, after all – as well as the basketball team. He was also considered a straight-B student, which wasn't too bad after being in and out of school for about a year.

Alex stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wake him up and trying to remember what to do that day. _Avoid cheerleaders… do homework… get Chrissy's present…_

He cursed to himself silently. He'd forgotten to get Chrissy's birthday present over the weekend and she'd been dropping hints for the last week about it. And Alex, being Alex, had been oblivious to it until Terri had literally walked up to him and said it to his face.

He groaned as he got out of the shower, wrapping one towel around his waist before wiping his hair with another. As he walked out of the bathroom, he saw Sabina's mother walk past.

"Morning Mrs Pleasure," Alex greeted.

Liz paused at her bedroom door. "Good morning Alex." She turned to look at him with a bright smile. "And please, as I've told you many times, call me Liz."

"Ok Mrs P- I mean Liz," Alex corrected himself, blushing slightly at his mistake.

"It's either that or 'Mum', Alex, so you choose."

Alex smiled and walked into his room, chucking the towel that he used to wipe his hair into the laundry basket on the corridor. He closed his door behind him and quickly got dressed, putting on a plain blue t-shirt and some dark jeans. He looked at himself in the mirror quickly, deciding to only smooth his hair down rather than gel it as usual, before grabbing his blue rucksack and heading downstairs into the kitchen where Sabina had just set a plate of toast and a glass of orange juice on the table for herself. As she sat in her seat, Alex grabbed a slice of toast from her plate.

"Hey!" Sabina cried.

"I can't be asked to get my own plate," Alex countered, grinning. Sabina just glared at him playfully.

"Lazy."

"And…?" Alex paused as he was about to bite his slice of toast. "You still love me."

"Of course, Alex. You're the most adorable little brother I've ever had."

"I'm the only little brother you've ever had."

"Exactly."

"And I'm technically not even your real brother."

"You're like a brother."

"But we're only legally, and not biologically, related."

"Alex…"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and eat your toast."

Alex smirked and took a bite into the toast in his hand. Suddenly, there was a bark from the living room, and a fairly large chocolate colored Labrador Retriever bounded into the kitchen, wagging its tail as it stopped right beside Alex's chair. Alex smiled and patted its head.

"'Ello, Choco," he greeted. He then paused. "What kind of name is 'Choco'?"

"The kind of name you think up when on painkillers," Sabina explained with a smile. "I twisted my ankle really badly playing girls' soccer," she explained at Alex's confused face. "I'm sure I've told you this before…"

"No, you haven't… but thanks for the information," Alex told her before looking at the time.

"We're gonna be late," he explained as he got up from his seat, taking his slice of toast with him. Sabina grabbed a slice of toast as well before taking two bottles of water out of the fridge. The pair ran to the front door, passing the living room on their way out.

"Bye, Dad!" Sabina called out at the same time Alex called out, "Bye Mr Pleasure!"

Edward just chuckled and shook his head from his seat in the living room, where he was writing a draft for his next article.

Those two were going to be late again.

* * *

Alex skidded to a stop in front of the bike shed, with Sabina hot on his heels. He was panting heavily, due to the fact that he'd just ridden about five miles in ten minutes, something that would normally take about half an hour. A tall boy, about six feet tall, with red hair and blue eyes was standing by his bike next to two empty spaces. He was wearing a red soccer t-shirt with a blue hoodie and dark jeans, along with a pair of red converse, and he was holding a black rucksack on his shoulder. He smiled when he saw Alex climb off his bike.

"Dude, you're late," the boy laughed.

"Oh, shut up Ben," Alex sighed as he dragged his bike over to the space and locked it. Sabina locked her bike next to Alex's.

The boy's name was Benjamin Hardy, and he was one of Alex's closest friends. He had been one of the first people to actually greet and talk to Alex when he had arrived at the school, and the two had quickly bonded. They were on the same football – correction, _soccer_ – team, and shared some of the same classes, so they were able to hang out a lot. That and they lived a few streets away from each other, so they were able to meet up often.

"He slept in _again_ this morning," Sabina explained as she glanced at the blonde. She smirked at Alex's frown. "Still, when has he ever been here on time on a Monday?" she teased, nudging the younger boy playfully.

"Good point," Ben joked, ruffling Alex's hair and causing the blonde to scowl and the redhead to laugh. Ben pulled his bag onto his shoulder more comfortably. "Come on. I bet the guys are waiting." He waited for Alex to grab his bag before walking off in the direction of the school picnic benches. "See you later, Sabina!" he called out behind him.

Alex righted his hair quickly before he smiled at Sabina before running after his best friend, waving back at her. His smile widened when she returned the wave.

In many ways, Alex could see that Ben was a lot like Tom. He had the same bright blue eyes as his other best friend, along with the same cheeky smile, and the same sporty attitude that made sure Alex worked extra hard in P.E. and extra-curricular sports clubs so that they could stay at the same level. This was clearly shown by the fact that Ben was running ahead of him, leaving Alex to try and catch up if he could.

Alex smiled sadly as he thought about Tom. They still kept in contact, of course, over Facebook. Tom was now captain of the football team back at school, and he seemed to be doing well in his GCSEs… or so he said. He said was surviving without him, but he claimed that he still suffered a little with all of the rumours flying about as to why Alex had left and what happened with all of the shootings. Then again, as Tom had added to annoy Alex, the bullet wound was a good way to pick up girls. When he had been told, Alex had been less than amused.

Alex was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of someone calling his name.

"_Alex!_"

He blinked and slowed down before he smiled at the group of teens standing in front of him as he tried to regain his breath. "Hey guys," he greeted his friends.

A slim, short blonde girl – she was only 5 feet 4 inches – with bright green eyes stepped up to him. She was wearing a light, flowing pink blouse with a pair of navy blue jeans and pink flats. Her fairly pale blonde hair was curled slightly and hung down to her shoulders, and there was a light touch of pink lip gloss on her lips. A pink handbag was on her shoulder. All in all, she was very pink. "Where have you been?" she demanded, glaring darkly at Alex. "You're late! We were meant to meet here half an hour before school! Now we've only got five minutes!" The girl's name was Terri Dubois.

"Sorry, Terri," Alex apologised, cowering away from her slightly. Despite the fact that the teen used to be a spy, he was still quite frightened of the power women could have – especially angry women.

"Chrissy refused to open her presents without you here," another blond, this one male, explained. He looked almost identical to Terri, with the exact same bright green eyes and light shade of blond hair, but he was about an inch or two taller than Alex who now stood at 5 feet 11 inches tall. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, with a blue Nike hoodie over the top, and a pair of dark jeans with dark converse. His blonde hair was gelled everywhere apart from his fringe, which was pulled to the side on his forehead, and he had a black satchel on, with the strap resting on his shoulder. This boy was Terri's twin brother, Derrick Dubois.

"I said I was sorry, Derrick," Alex sighed, turning to the taller boy.

"He _did_ say he was sorry," a black African American girl, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, stood up for Alex. She wore a bright green t-shirt that had the words 'I'm a geek – deal with it!' written in black on the front, with a darker green Nike hoodie, and a pair of jeans with green converse. Her afro-curled hair was tied into a ponytail, although everyone else she knew thought it looked like a puffball on the back of her head. Her satchel was green, and the strap hung across her chest from her left shoulder to where the satchel hung on her right side. Her name was Abena Appiah.

Alex smiled at her. "Thanks Abbie," he told her.

An Asian girl, who just an inch shorter than Abbie which meant she stood at 5 feet 5 inches tall, stood next to Abbie. She had dark wavy hair, held back with a purple Alice-band, that went past her shoulders and brown eyes, and was wearing a purple t-shirt with a musical note on it with a white cardigan on top. She wore blue jeans, and a pair of purple converses to match the outfit. She smirked at Alex and folded her arms. "Did you remember Chrissy's birthday present?" This girl was Jasleen Dhami.

Abbie elbowed her. "Jasleen!"

Jasleen shouldered her back. "Well, did you?"

Alex's eyes widened and he turned to a girl with light brown hair and bright green eyes. She was about 5 feet 6, like Abbie, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore a sea-blue dress with black leggings, and had blue flats on her feet. She had lip gloss on – a very rare occurrence – and her hair was curly, and she had a blue dolphin themed satchel hanging at her side. Her arms were currently folded and her green eyes were piercing into Alex.

"Uh…" Alex stammered, paling slightly.

"You forgot, didn't you?" the brunette, better known as Chrissy, asked.

"Sorry," Alex apologised, rubbing the back of his neck.

She sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "Never mind, Alex. Ben forgot last year, and nobody remembered the year before."

"That was due to the fact that it was your first year in this part of the States, so nobody knew you. And the second year, I'd only just moved into the neighborhood," Ben explained.

Chrissy smiled at Alex, ignoring Ben. "At least you've apologised."

Abbie looked at her watch. "We should head off to homeroom," she suggested. "Mr Evans won't exactly be pleased if we're all late again because of Alex." She glared playfully at the taller boy, smirking.

Alex rolled his eyes at the comment as the group of seven headed over to the school building. "Oh… shut up, Abbie," he grumbled, causing the others to laugh as they walked in through the doors to the high school.

**So... what do you think? Sorry if this is going a bit slow... review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hiya, guys! I have your next chapter up and ready for you! I hope you really enjoy it, guys! :)**

* * *

"How's that mate of yours, Tom, anyway?"

The two of them, Alex and Chrissy, were walking over to their group's usual table from the lunch queue. It was now lunch time, and as the two had had classes together before lunch, they had ended up going together to the lunch hall. It hadn't taken them long to get in the queue and grab their lunch, although one of the school chefs had stopped Chrissy and given her a free cupcake because it was her birthday. Needless to say, the birthday girl had been "well chuffed" – that would be the explanation that Alex would have given if you were to ask him.

Alex placed his lunch tray on the table and sat down next to the bubbly birthday girl. "He's good, from what I can tell. Well, that's what he told me in our last conversation." He picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of pasta."Have you added him on Facebook yet?" he asked her before taking a bite of his lunch.

Chrissy shook her head, her curls bouncing. It was still her birthday, after all, so she hadn't had the time to go home and straighten those curls out. "I've seen his account and I've sent a request, but he hasn't replied to it yet." She smiled. "He looks kind of cute in the pictures you sent me." She batted her eyes playfully at him.

Alex stared at her incredulously. "You do realize this is _my_ best friend you're talking about, right?"

Chrissy stared at him innocently. "I'm sorry?" she said, though it was more of a question than a statement.

Alex smirked, poking her forehead. "I was kidding." His smirk turned into a grin. "Although… somebody has a little _crush_…"

Chrissy narrowed her green eyes at him. "Why you little—"

"Hey kiddies!" Sabina greeted with a huge smile as she sat on the seat on the other side of Alex, nudging the younger male playfully and sliding her tray onto the table. "Where are all of your other little friends?" she asked as she picked up her fork. She began to push around her food aimlessly on her plate.

"They like being late," Chrissy told her as-a-matter-of-factly. "They should be here soon, though."

"Okay, then."

"_Hey Sabina_!"

The trio at the table turned to see four girls heading over to where they were sitting. The one in front had curly red hair and green eyes, and was of an average height. She wore the school's cheerleading outfit, which was white with blue and silver rims – the school's colors – and her curly hair was held back with a white Alice band. She wore a pair of white flats on her feet.

The one just to the left of her looked almost identical, apart from the fact that she had straight hair rather than curly. Her straight hair was held back in a ponytail, and instead of a pair of white flats, she wore a pair of white converse which had grey stars that looked as if they were drawn on.

There was a tall blonde girl to the right of them, with blue eyes and curly hair. She wore a cheerleading outfit, like the other two, but her skirt was much shorter to show off her long legs, and she wore a pair of blue converse. Her curly hair hung lower than her shoulders, and she had a blue bow in her hair.

The girl to the right of the blonde had dark hair with green eyes, and her hair was tied into pigtails with white scrunchies that hung over her shoulders. Over her cheerleading outfit, she wore the school's blue and silver tracksuit jacket, and she had a pair of blue and silver trainers on her feet.

Chrissy groaned."Why must the rest of the cheerleading team approach us?" she grumbled, a deep frown on her face. "Aren't two at this table enough?"

Both Alex and Sabina shrugged, trying to ignore the girls behind them and eat their lunch.

"_Sabina!_" one of the girls sang again as they reached the table, standing right behind them and staring down at the trio, her arms folded.

Sabina sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before she turned to the girls. "Do you want something?" she demanded, sounding rather irritated.

The girls seemed to either miss or ignore this. "We want you to join us. We're having a party tomorrow," the first redhead said.

"Forget it, Cheryl," Sabina said with another sigh. She was just about to turn back to her food when the other redhead talked.

"There'll be lots of boys."

This made Sabina stop to consider it. _Boys…?_ She knew she shouldn't have been lured in by that, but… "Really, Lydia?" she asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"And they'll all be Juniors and Seniors," Cheryl added.

"Can't we invite any Sophomores?" the dark haired girl asked as she spared a glance at Alex and Chrissy. She smiled a little at the pair, who returned her smile as they ate.

"No," Cheryl answered stubbornly, narrowing her eyes a little.

"Not even that cute one sitting next to Sabina?" the blonde asked. Cheryl and Lydia both glared at Alex.

"Especially not him, Michelle," Cheryl snarled.

Alex just looked up at the two girls that were glaring at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her."Glaring at me isn't going to get your boyfriend back on the soccer team," he stated bluntly.

"I mean, he sounds so thick with his British accent," Lydia added, turning her nose up at the blonde male and huffing. "It's totally fake."

Chrissy growled and was about to open her mouth to say something – something that would have probably got her kicked off the cheerleading team – when Alex stopped her. He shook his head at her, giving her a warning look with his eyes. The brunette reluctantly calmed down, giving the cheerleaders one last glare before going back to her meal.

Cheryl dropped an invitation on the table in front of Sabina. "Be there," she commanded before turning walking off with her twin, Lydia. Michelle, the blonde, scampered after them. Only the dark haired one remained, and she sat next down to Sabina.

"Girls bullying a boy?" Alex commented, before rolling his eyes and shaking his head, turning back to poke at his food. "Seriously, do they have nothing better to do with their lives?"

"Those girls are so… urgh!" Chrissy exclaimed, nearly hitting her plate up into the air as she threw her arms up in frustration. "Seriously, I could do with strangling one of them right now!"

"No duh," Sabina sighed as she glanced over in the direction that the girls had walked.

The dark haired girl sitting next to Sabina smiled sadly at the trio. "Sorry about that, guys," she apologised. "They're just being their usual selves. Just… ignore them."

"Don't worry about it, Macy," Sabina told her with a small smile. "But it looks like I have to go this time. If all the boys are gonna be there, they're gonna wonder why their best cheerleader is missing," she teased, nudging her best friend playfully.

Macy grinned widely at her friend. "That's the spirit!" She punched her playfully in the shoulder. "If your parents say yes, call me and I'll pick you up."

"Thanks, Macy."

Macy got up, picking up her bag. "I must leave. The ice queen awaits," she groaned dramatically.

Alex and Chrissy sniggered at her comment before waving goodbye to her. "Bye, Macy!"

Sabina did the same before she turned and smiled sadly at the two."Sorry, Alex," she apologised.

"It's not your fault. Her dumbass boyfriend decided to pick on a kid who's a black belt in karate," Alex waved it aside with a small smile at the memory.

"Did he even know?" Chrissy asked, raising at eyebrow at him.

"Hey, I warned him. He's the first opponent I've warned of my amazing skills." Alex winked at Sabina.

Sabina rolled her eyes at him, although she was smiling. "And you've had many opponents, right?"

"Yup." Alex nodded and looked at the card in Sabina's hand. "So, you're going to that party, right?"

Sabina nodded, smiling a little. "Now we just have to see if they'll say yes," she sighed.

"See if who'll say yes?" Ashley asked as she joined the trio at the table along with Terri, Jasleen, Ben and Derrick.

"Never mind that," Chrissy said, folding her arms and glaring at them. "Why are you guys late?" she demanded.

"Terri forgot her locker combination…_again_," Derrick explained, glancing over at his twin sister with a smirk.

Terri smiled sheepishly as she blushed faintly."Sorry."

"Oh, don't worry. We were prepared to wait until the cows came home," Chrissy commented sarcastically.

Everyone at the table laughed.

* * *

Alex sat on his bed, reading the book they were meant to be studying for English Literature.

Why was he meant to study Jane Eyre for English again?

Oh yeah, because his teacher was British and thought that since he was British as well they might as well study a British book.

He put the book on his bedside after reading the first four pages of the book before he grabbed his laptop, turning it on and logging onto Facebook. As soon as he had logged on, he found that Tom had left him more than a couple of messages. He smirked. Tom had been on Facebook in English and IT again. He was about to reply to the messages when there was a knock on the door.

He quickly closed his laptop and shoved it under his pillow, grabbing his book at the same time, before telling the person to come in.

Sabina smirked at him as she walked into the room."I know you weren't doing homework, Alex," she said.

Alex put the book down and sat up on the bed fully."I know, Sab. You can read me like a book," he sighed. Then Alex smiled at her. "So what did they say?"

Sabina joined Alex on the bed. "Well, when I told them I was going round to Macy's for a study night and that she would be inviting a few more friends over for a slumber party so I would be home the next day, they said yes."

Alex smirked and shook his head. "You filthy little liar," he scolded.

"It's not like you didn't do the same thing when you were younger. I bet you did that loads."

Alex tensed slightly at that, but forced a smirk onto his face to cover it up. "Well yeah, I did try, but it wasn't as if I succeeded anyway," he pointed out. "I mean, remember who I lived with? I didn't have the chance to get away with lying. Everyone saw right through it."

Sabina rolled her eyes at him, not noticing how she had hit a particularly tense spot. "Right, right. I forgot about that." She noticed the book by Alex's bed, and raised an eyebrow at him. "So this is the book you're doing for English Literature?" she asked curiously.

Alex sighed. "Yeah. Rubbish, isn't it?"

"Actually, this is one of my favourite books. This, and '_Of Mice And Men_'."

Alex stared at her incredulously, his jaw practically dropping. "You've got to be kidding me."

She laughed and shook her head. "I'm not kidding."

Alex picked up the book and went to throw it at Sabina, holding it just at shoulder height. "Get out."

"Why? So that you can '_do your homework_'?"

"Yes."

"Liar."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"You're getting defensive, which proves you're lying."

"Am not!"

"_Sabina_! Keep the noise down up there!" Sabina winced at her father's tone.

"Yes, Dad." She got up from Alex's bed. "Good luck with your homework, Al. Study hard!"

Alex nodded and watched as Sabina left the room. He smiled as he thought about her sneaking out of the house to go to a party.

"Good luck, Sab."

* * *

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 3

Alex sat up from his position on the living room couch. There was nothing for him to watch on TV, mainly because he didn't find anything that was on there interesting, and even though he was a little hungry, he knew for a fact that _that_ wasn't what was bothering him. He groaned as he lay back down, trying to think of something to do to keep himself entertained.

_I could call Chrissy?_ he thought, before he shook his head. _Nah… my phone's in the kitchen, and even if I did call her, she'd try to pull me into another of her stupid schemes to irritate her brother._

_I could play video games?_ He found himself shaking his head again. _There's nothing particularly interesting to play… and the war games seem too unrealistic to enjoy._

_I could invite the guys over?_ He shuddered at that thought. The last time he'd decided to do that, the plan had backfired and he'd ended up having to spend three hours cleaning up after the mess they had made. Liz hadn't been too impressed with the state of the living room, let alone the rest of the house.

He looked up at the clock as he lay there.

19:30.

Sabina was meant to be leaving in about an hour for the party, and for the whole day he had been having bad feelings about this party that she was being invited to. He eventually managed to pull himself to his feet and walked into the kitchen and grabbed a packet of crisps – correction, _chips_ – from one of the cupboards. As he turned to leave, he noticed his phone lying on the kitchen table, the screen flashing to indicate that he had unread texts. As he walked over to retrieve it, a thought popped into his mind – primarily because Chrissy had been the one to send him all those texts that he was supposed to read.

He knew _exactly _what to do to keep himself occupied.

* * *

About an hour later, Alex lay back on his bed, reading through his notes for the Pop Quiz for physics that was being held soon – nobody knew when, they just revised. Well, some people did. Others just relied on what little knowledge they had, knowing they were going to flunk anyway. He was bored, but keeping his cover was _very_ important in the current situation. He looked over at his clock. Sabina was leaving in five minutes. He pulled out his phone, a HTC sensation that had been sent as a final goodbye present from Smithers – pretty ordinary, considering everything that the man had built for him in the past.

_U ready?_ He texted.

He got a response just seconds later:

_**Does being dressed in black and hiding behind an old lady's car count as ready?**_

Alex chuckled. Typical Chrissy. Always being so sarcastic. He could imagine her being with Tom… _no, he shouldn't_. That would be torture for him. There would probably be a never-ending stream of pranks directed his way.

_I guess it does_, he texted in reply. Not long after that, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!" he called out. Sabina walked into the room.

She was wearing a purple short-sleeved blouse with black leggings. She had a black belt around her waist, and she was wearing sparkly black flats. Her hair was held back with a violet Alice-band. Her makeup was light, only consisting of lip-gloss and dark purple eye shadow, along with a light touch of mascara. Alex snorted at that thought. _Light touch, my ass_.

She smiled at Alex. "Have you seen my leather jacket, Alex?"

Alex raised an eyebrow at her. "You think your parents are gonna let you go out dressed like that?"

Sabina rolled her eyes at him. "My mum already knows I'm going to a party before spending the night at Macy's, you idiot."

"Does she know you're gonna have booze?" Alex asked.

Sabina glared at him. "F.Y.I., I plan on staying sober tonight." She walked into the room and started looking through Alex's wardrobe. "Besides, even if I _was_ drunk, I wouldn't be that bad."

Alex smirked, completely disregarding the fact that she was going through his personal belongings. "So you've forgotten that incident at the end of the summer, then?"

Sabina glared at Alex. "You promised we'd never speak of that again," she growled.

Alex shrugged. "You crossed the line first. You said you wouldn't be that bad drunk. That memory simply proves you wrong."

Sabina sighed and pulled her jacket out of Alex wardrobe – how it got there, she would never know – before shutting it and turning to the door. She turned back to Alex just before she walked out. "See ya later, Al."

Alex smiled and lifted a hand to say goodbye. "See ya, Sab."

Sabina smiled at him and walked out of the door. As soon as it shut behind her, Alex picked up his phone and texted Chrissy.

_Sabina's just leaving now._

He smirked when he got a reply.

_**And here I am looking for codewords. You're the most boring stalk partner I've ever met.**_

_Hey, I'm just trying to make it easy for you,_ Alex replied.

_**Even Ashley was more interesting than you.**_

_I'm guessing you forced her to make codewords. Besides, it's not as if anyone was listening._ Alex hoped his point would get through to Christina as he got up and put on some dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Just as he was putting on his trainers, he got another text.

_**What if the News of the World was hacking?**_

It didn't look as if it had. It seemed like a conversation he would have with Chrissy on any ordinary day.

_Chrissy, they're over._

_**But what if they're still around?**_

_And by 'over' I mean they're gone and never coming back. Deal with it Chrissy – I'm right, and you're wrong._

Alex could literally hear Chrissy huff on the other side. He opened his bedroom window and let down the rope he'd found in the attic. His phone buzzed.

_**Killjoy.**_

Alex would have burst out laughing if it weren't for the fact that he was currently climbing out of his bedroom window, trying to avoid being caught. He slid down the rope and sighed in relief when he touched the ground with his feet. He looked around him and realized he was in the back garden, the area his bedroom overlooked. He also realized he had his back to the dining room, so he ducked down to avoid being caught and scanned the area. As soon as he realized it was all clear, he tiptoed over to the garden wall – the one that faced the street – and climbed over it, making barely any noise as he landed smoothly on the other side. He smirked.

Maybe he wasn't out of touch with his spy skills, then.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, putting the phone to his ear. As soon as he heard the phone being picked up on the other side, he muttered two words.

"I'm out."

It wasn't long at all before, a sleek black car pulled up in front of him, with darkly tinted windows so as to hide the driver and the passengers. Alex faintly recognized it as an Audi, though why there was one in America he would never know. One of the front windows rolled down automatically, and a familiar face that was barely covered by a balaclava appeared.

"Get in," said a female voice.

Alex sighed as he stood by the door to the passenger seat, leaning in through the window. "Chrissy, by inconspicuous I meant that you meet me and we _walk_, not drive a flashy car," he pointed out.

Chrissy rolled her eyes at him as she lifted her mask to show the slightly irritated look on her face. "I don't care, Al. Just get in the car so I can drive. I'm supposed to bring this back by midnight."

Alex paused, before opening the door and climbing in, sitting down with a small huff and shutting the door behind him. "Fine. Drive."

* * *

Alex pressed himself against the wall, keeping to the shadows so that he wasn't seen. He peered over the bin that was currently shadowing him from streetlamps, watching the entrance to the club. No one was entering or exiting the club.

"Alex! _Alex!_"

Alex span quickly. "What?" he whispered furiously.

Chrissy shrugged, a slight pout on her face. "I'm bored."

Alex rolled his eyes at her, resisting the urge to scowl at her. "Just shut up. We're just meant to watch and make sure Sabina's ok; nothing else."

Chrissy pouted. "Yeah, but when you said you were spying on her I thought it would be more… _fun_ than this."

Alex shook his head slowly. It was at times like these where Chrissy really reminded him of Tom. "We're just waiting here until Sabina leaves. That's it."

"We'll probably be waiting here for a long time, then." An evil smirk spread slowly over Chrissy's face. "Why can't we go in there and start a fight with those cows?" she suggested.

Alex smirked as well, although he was still shaking his head slightly at Chrissy. The girl _did_ have a point. But there was no way he was going to do that. "Because then it would mess up our whole plan of stalking her and making sure she doesn't notice. Got it?"

Chrissy's pout deepened, but she nodded. "Got it." She put her finger to her lip in thought. "Although, it would be a lot of fun…"

A scream prevented Alex from replying to Chrissy's comment, and he frowned, his body going rigid. "What was that?"

"I presume it was a scream," Chrissy answered.

Alex resisted the urge to hit her. "I know that, Chris, it's just…"

It was the second scream that forced Alex to get up.

"It seems to be coming from near the bar," he said before walking cautiously towards the alleyway beside it.

Chrissy quickly got up to follow him, scrambling to her feet and almost crashing into the bin in the process. "Alex, we've got to be careful!" she hissed. "What if this guy has a knife?"

Alex shrugged nonchalantly, acting as if this was something he faced every day. Which it wasn't… well, not any more, at least. _No, Alex, stop thinking about that_. "There've got to be a load of sharp objects in that alley, Chris. A glass bottle would do."

Chrissy nodded cautiously. She still wasn't too sure about what Alex was thinking, and honestly didn't know where this would get her. If her parents ever found out about this… she was so very _dead_.

Alex stepped into the alleyway, glancing around and allowing his eyes adjust to the dark before he spotted a figure. "Oi!" he called out.

A man in a dark shirt with jeans was cornering a teenage girl, probably around Alex and Chrissy's age. His eyes were an icy blue, and his hair a jet black. He glared darkly at Alex, the 3-day stubble on his chin making him look even more drunk and haggard than he actually was.

Chrissy winced at the glare the male got, taking a couple of steps back instinctively. This wouldn't end well…

* * *

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